The British Government is known for its extensive network of CCTV cameras and other surveillance technology. The government has a total budget of £420m for maintaining this network alone. A lot of criticisms have been faced by the government on invasion of privacy and excessive monitoring putting people’s identity and health at risks through such close surveillance.

Below written are some of the important facts about CCTVs in UK.

• The number of CCTV cameras in UK account for 4.2 million cameras that is about one-fifth of the total surveillance cameras in the entire world. This means that there is one CCTV camera present for one in every 14 people living in the UK.

• Such strict surveillance system in the UK has been criticised by many saying that people’s identities are at risk, especially those of children and opening doors to people who can get their way and access to vital information through bribery.

• Many life insurance companies conduct background checks on their prospective clients by using information about the lifestyle of people predicted from the kind of items they shop for, the lifestyle they lead and the food they consume purchased from supermarkets.

• Wandsworth borough has as many as 4 cameras per 1000 people living in the area accounting for the highest concentration of CCTV cameras in London.

• In London, an average citizen is likely to be caught under the CCTV camera almost as many as 300 times a day.

• The Metropolitan Police Force of London has as many have 200,000 cameras installed around the Capital.

• Human Rights group Privacy International has ranked Britain as the worst Western Democracy on the basis of protection of individual privacy.

• A total of 89,431 motor vehicle crimes were recorded under CCTV cameras in London in 2012 and 2013 which reveals a reduced rate by 9%.

• Data recorded from surveillance reports reveal that there are about 250 active gangs in London. 62 of these gangs are even considered to be high risk and are held responsible for two-thirds of all gang related crime London.

• Security cameras in London are installed in all public and private areas irrespective of whether the images are for mere recording or being monitored live.

• There is no doubt that CCTV camera surveillance has helped in detecting criminals and bringing down crime rates but the surveillance culture has been criticised to have gone out of control.

Such is the extreme levels of surveillance that technology is now developing ways to monitor air passengers by detecting any suspicious patterns of behaviour. Unfortunately, following the British example, the Chinese government too has revealed its intentions for full surveillance by expanding its network of CCTV cameras to bolster the extreme state control regime that it follows. It has been predicted that by the year 2016, surveillance in UK will reach such levels that schools could introduce cards that would enable parents to monitor what their children eat; employers may refuse jobs on the basis of the background check made on applicants about their lifestyle and if they pose to be a health risk. Moreover there is always a risk of valuable information falling in the wrong hands.